The Broken Heart-Stone
by Havok in Greenwood
Summary: Sequel to "Escape to the North" or "The Wooden Unicorn" Myral, Hesper and Lily, now ten years older than the previous book, must save the hobbit-land of the Shire from 'The Great Theif' who has stolen the all the light, youth, happiness and hobbits. Can they save the hobbits and release what has been stolen in time?
1. Chapter 1

The woods stretched on before me, mallorn trees waving eagerly from a distance, the wind sliding through my hair. I had never run this fast before! She was beside me, her silk robes flying in the breeze, her green eyes keen and glittering with excitement. We dodged low tree branches, leapt over logs and dashed over the wooden bridge, our final destination now in sight. She was so fast it was as if she had wings, but I kept pressing forward until I was only a few metres away from the finish line we had set up. I took one final leap but she got there first, her slippered feet stretching over the line. She laughed brightly and her beautiful face lit up with success.

"You got lucky this time, Aiwentil." I teased, "Next time I'm not so sure."

She laughed again; "don't get cocky, Myral. You know I'm faster."

"But I'm the fastest elf in the realm."

"second." She corrected, wiping a few loose ginger strands off her face. She grasped a small string which lay around her neck, with a small stone charm on it and pulled it over her head, hanging it from her hand over the ground below. I grinned pulling out my matching one. The stone charm was in the shape of half a love heart and when we put them together it fit perfectly.

"Friends forever." She said softly as the cracks on the edges of either charm slotted together to form the final picture. She leaned her head forward to stare at me deeply in the eyes. She smelt of elanor petals and her breath was soft and fragrant. I wished I could keep an image of her face right at that moment- she looked so beautiful. Her freckles were round and lightly peppered over her round nose, and her eyes captured the colour of every leaf in the Greenwood.

"Because we have forever, and we'll never be apart." I whispered, caught in her gaze. We leaned in closer till our noses nearly touched. I closed my eyes to feel the warmth around me.

"Do we really have forever? We are probably the happiest elves right now and we're not even that happy." I looked up at her, confused. She continued; "we have both felt the sickness, and we're lucky the Blood-Hungers haven't caught us yet. That we're still alive is a wonder."

"We should head back." I said, after a moment's silence. I knew everything she said was true but I didn't want to admit it. We began to run again, except it was no longer a race. We were silent the whole way, until suddenly I felt a sharp pain throughout my entire body. I gasped in a heavy breath as I felt my legs give way. The sickness was back. My body felt like it was on fire, all my eyes say was dancing flames, all I could smell was thick smoke choking my lungs. That was when I realised it wasn't just a dream, nor the sickness. The woods were burning.

"myral!" Aiwentil cried dashing to where I lay. Suddenly an enormous burning filled the gap between us- we were stranded on opposite sides. I stumbled to my feet, gripping the tree beside me.

"run!" I screamed. "I will see you again. I will not lose you!"

She stared at me for a moment longer, running her finger over the stone charm around her neck. A crystal tear slid down her pale face but turned to steam once it dripped off her chin. Then she turned on her heels and fled. I, too began to run, in the direction of the village of men nearby.

Who knew if I would ever see her again.


	2. An Idea

I woke up gasping for breath, trying to get her face out of my mind. She had been gone for ten years now, but her memory lingered. At least the sickness had passed, now that the Captain of the Blood-Hungers was shot ten years ago while Lily and I rescued Hesper. That seems like so long ago now- Hesper has become like a true brother to me- something I never had before, and he is now a strong warrior, no longer a weak child. The three of us have been living safely here in the Northern Kingdom of Maressa, every day becoming stronger and braver, yet safe from war, living in complete and utter peace. We all had our inspiration- someone we fought for. For Lily, now 15, and her elder brother Hesper, it was their parents- both killed by the Captain of the Blood-Hungers.

For me, my inspiration all came from her. Aiwentil. At night I would lie alone and gently cup the stone necklace in my hand, remembering the flash of glowing warmth whenever the pieces joined. But they would never join again.

I leapt from my soft bed onto the supple, carpeted floor; brushing a length of blonde hair from my shoulders. My fingers grasped the silky material of my favourite silver shirt, before sliding my arms through the short sleeves. My hair was mussed and wild but I didn't really care. I was probably already late for breakfast.

Hesper was waiting outside the door, his short nutty-brown mane whipped frantically by the wind. He looked about as unprepared as I was, but Lily had demanded we were on time- ready or not. We walked briskly, bare feet pattering over the cobble stones leading to one of the dining halls. It was a just system here- it depended on how hard you worked and what your job/rank was that determined which dining hall you ate in. no-one went hungry, but the harder you worked, the better the food. Hesper and I worked as part of the guard, defending the borders, so we we're well looked after. We made polite small talk on the way, but Hesper has never been one to talk much, and my mind was off elsewhere.

It wasn't long until we arrived at the dining hall furthest south, Marchoth. The large, heavy wooden door were still shut, after all, nearly everyone in Maressa still lay comfortably in their beds. Everyone but Hesper and Lily and I. With a heave, we shoved the doors open. A young girl sat at the furthest table, glancing excitedly at a large scrap of paper on the table before her. She noticed us come in, I heard her whispering in my head, but her gaze didn't falter. I wove between the various engraved timber counters and stools until I plonked myself down on the opposite bench.

The girl was Lily- with beautiful, long honey-blonde hair, wavy and loose over her shoulders and tucked behind one pointed ear. Her birch-bark brown eyes were curious yet behind the glass of her eyelids there was more wisdom than many of the wisest beings in Middle Earth.

"What's this?" I inquired, peering at the piece of thick, crumpled brown paper Lily was scrutinising with interest.

"Better be worth getting up at this time of the morning." Groaned Hesper, running his hands through his thick hair, his azure eyes still fuzzy with sleep.

"Of course it's worth it, Hesper." Lily turned the paper to show us what it was. "It's a map." She continued.

"What is it for?" I asked, peering at the beautiful strokes of writing from clever, ancient hands.

"Aren't you two sick of sitting around here? I mean, it's nice and all, but don't you want to see the world?" Hesper and I exchanged looks, slightly worried about where this was going.

"It's been ten years since we came here, and we haven't left once. Don't you want to see forests and mountains again? Don't you want to meet Hobbits and Dwarves and Ents, don't you want to see the great kingdoms- Erebor, Arnor, The Greenwood, and the Grey Havens? I want to go on…" she paused suspensefully so Hesper and I leaned in excitedly. "…an _adventure."_

Her eyes sparkled as she spoke, and as she continued she began to paint an image of my mind- great mines filled to the brim with glistening stones and smooth metals, deep forests that go on for miles and miles, with nothing in sight but trees like giants, stretching towards the sky. I pictured wide plains, dotted with technicolour flowers and quaint little villages. But Hesper soon interrupted my imaginative train of thought.

"Where exactly would we plan on going?"

"To the hobbit-land of the Shire, through Greenwood the Great and past Erebor and the lively city of Dale."

She grinned, anticipating our response.

"I'm in!" I cried. After all, she was right. Spending the last ten years in the same place meant my mind had time to wander, and whenever it wandered I thought of her. Besides, all of that weapon training could be useful on a long journey- it wouldn't be a smooth ride the whole time.

Lily and I turned our gaze to Hesper, who was gently fingering the stump on the side of his face where his ear had been cut off the last time he went on an adventure.

He sighed; "fine." But I could see a smile tugging at the edges of his mouth as he spoke.

"Great! We leave tomorrow!"


	3. Goodbye to Maressa

When morning came, I was ready. A trail of rooms to visit stretched on before me- the armoury, the food hall, the stables and finally the west courtyard, the meeting place. When I was fully dressed I slid on my cloak and the straps of my pack, stuffed with as much clothes and food as could fit. Finally I slipped the necklace over my head, pausing for a moment to observe the tiny engravings in the stone that I had never even noticed before.

The first room to head to was the armoury- about the only room that was guarded. It was a solid stone building made from sanded rectangular rocks stacked with layers of cement in between, yet the door was wooden. This morning Broask the dwarf was on duty- one of the few dwarves to live here, but dedicated to protecting the shared kingdom. Broask was a stout fellow with a bushy grey beard lightly flecked with a few rare black strands. He kept it in several strange plaits around his face which looked like a pile of drab sausages hanging from his double chin.

"Morning." I spoke as warmly as I could to a grumpy dwarf in the early hours of daylight.

"What now?" was his gruff reply, lowering his axe towards me. I stepped back and held my hands up in submission.

"Telcantre gave me permission to pick up my bow before I leave."

Telcantre was the King of Maressa; however the land was mainly ruled by a gathering of officials called the 'Startrin'. Broask wasn't keen to put his trust in me, but eventually opened the door, supervising me with both of his beady eyes while I picked out my bow, quiver of arrows and pocket dagger. He wasn't keen to let me leave either, presumably he expected me to take a shift for him, but I was out of there as soon as I could.

Next was the dining hall. I couldn't be bothered to walk all the way to Marchoth so I headed to the closest one and slipped inside. I returned only a few minutes later with three warm bread rolls and an apple shoved into my pockets. The stables were only five metres away so I hopped inside, despite the lingering smell of hay and horse dung. Telcantre had given me permission to have any beast of my choice, so I strolled to the back of the stables to where the final stall was. The stallion inside was no more special than any of the others, but we were friends. His name was Anduné, a dappled grey mare who I would often ride bareback through the woods or race to the river when I didn't have a shift as guard.

Anduné was already saddled and bridled in a soft pale leather, and although I hardly ever rode in a saddle, I left him that way. I untied the rope that held him and let him walk freely beside me to our final destination- the courtyard.

We were first there. Lily came soon after, skipping and singing as if she were a melodic robin without a care in the world. She beamed when she saw me and gave a low whistle that flowed smoothly through the air. Her horse, Shanis, came galloping forward, a fair palomino with pale hooves and chestnut hair. Anduné gave an excited whimper at the sight of his stalemate but soon forgot about her when I reached into my pocket and presented the rosy apple I had taken from the dining hall. I tossed a roll to Lily who tore it open to sniff the fresh, warm grain. She grinned, sinking her teeth into the soft bread contentedly. I pulled out my own and ripped out a mouthful, popping it between my lips and mimicking Lily's grateful expression.

I heard Hesper before I saw him, the horse he had chosen, whose name I did not know, clipped and clopped loudly down the cobbles as if in a celebrant marching band, with a bunch of silver bells on his bridle jingling loudly.

I tossed Hesper the last bread rolls and he stuffed most of it into his mouth in one go, holding the rest on his hand towards his horse.

"Have you two met Kelva?" Hesper gestured to the jolly animal beside him. "They only found her in the woods last week. She's a wild one, not my first preference, but a funny little stallion all the same." He patted her neck, running his fingers through her charcoal mane with a soft smile on his lips.

I knew what he mean by 'first preference'- Arë. I had never met him, nor did I even believe he existed. Hesper always talked about the unicorn on his necklace becoming real and the connection the beast and him had shared, and it surprised me that his imagination was that wild, but Lily and I let him dream. An image appeared before me, sent from Lily into my mind. It was of Arë himself- a pure white stallion with a pale rosy horn running through the air.

'It's from Hesper's head.' I heard Lily speaking in my mind, it was one of those abilities she had. 'He's thinking of him.'

I nodded but a mocking smile forced its way out.

"If you're going to have a silent conversation I suggest you do it somewhere else!" Hesper grunted disapprovingly. "Now are we going or not?"

"We're going." I replied, leaping onto Anduné's back as gracefully as possible. Lily carefully mounted Shanis beside me and Hesper warily climbed onto Kelva's fidgety rear. I burst into laughter at the wild horse bound up in bells with my best friend and, as of ten years ago, little brother sitting upright on top like a balloon bopping around in the wind.

Our journey was about to begin.


	4. A Warning

For two days everything was good. The journey was safe, uneventful, quiet. The second night began peacefully, too, but once darkness had fallen completely things began to go wrong. I never needed much sleep, us elves hardly ever did, so, as usual I kept watch. It was deathly quiet, with no moon and few stars and my keen eyes could spot nothing but the horses a few metres away and the thin shrubbery nearby.

The strange, wild horse, Kelva gave the warning. She shrieked and began to leap on the ground in panic, her wide eyes filled with anxiety. I strained my ears to hear what had given her the fright and froze.

"Hesper! Hesper!" I pinched Hesper's shoulders to wake him up; desperate to warn him but he only mumbled and turned onto his side. "Get up you lazy thing! There's a pack of fifty goblins less than 100 metres away!" I knew not even all three of us could defeat that many orcs, but I had heard them, and so had Kelva. We had no choice but to fight.

Hesper still dozed on. I cursed under my breath and dashed to where Lily lay beneath a bundle of blankets. I reached to grab her shoulder and realised immediately that the pile of blankets was too small to hold a body.

Lily was gone.

I seized my bow and fitted an arrow into the frame. I took a deep breath. At this point, it was looking like I was going to be facing 50 orcs alone. I braced myself, drawing by bow, ready to shoot at the first filthy creature to come into view. I kept my ears pricked but everything was silent again. Kelva caught my glance and we held eye contact for a moment longer. She couldn't hear anything either.

Finally a figure emerged into view, hard to notice at first. I held my fire, unsure of what it was, but as it drew closer I noticed the golden hair gleaming in the moonlight, the soft, pale bare feet walking softly over the hard ground and lowered my bow submissively.

"What just happened Lily? Where did you go? What happened to the goblin pack?" there were too many question bombarding through my mind.

"Let's just say I took care of it." She forced a smile. "Is Hesper still sleeping? Wake him. We should move on soon."

"Why? What happened?"

"I said I took care of it!" I had never seen Lily this angry before. "Wake up Hesper. We're moving on. NOW!"

Turns out I didn't need to wake Hesper- the sound of Lily's anger was enough to force him into consciousness. He grumbled while he folded the blankets but said nothing loud enough for us to here. When the horses were loaded, we remounted and headed off into the night. I kept my bow with me, just in case, but nothing else happened that night.

By midnight we had arrived by a small cottage where Lily alighted and went to knock on the door. Hesper, overprotective of his little sister as he was, followed after, leaving me to hold the horses, who happily dropped their heads to munch on the spongy grass. Five minutes later I was tying the steeds to a pole inside the small stable with a bag of oats and entering the house of a small, nearly crippled woman.

"Mrs Farthings, this is our brother and fellow companion, Myral Tuile." Lily introduced. Mrs Farthings, the pruned widow, gave a smile and looked me over.

"You don't look much like these other two. Are you really their brother?" her voice was a soft cracking whisper that slid between the gaps in her few teeth.

"Adopted brother. Thank you for letting me into your home."

"I have two spare rooms where my children used to sleep where you may spend the night, but sadly I haven't much food," Mrs Farthings settled down into a wooden rocking chair by the dining table, an old creaky thing that almost blocked the door entirely.

"It's alright. We have plenty." Lily was putting a small cauldron of water over the fire to boil and she threw in some of the rabbit we had caught the other day along with some herbs and vegetables we had brought with us.

"Please, sit." Mrs Farthings gestured to me to join her by the table. "Where are you three young fair-faced elves off to in this time of the night?"

"Travelling. We just wanted to see the world."

"I travelled a lot in my younger days. My husband was a ranger from the north, and I met him while passing through a little town called Sime. Sadly he died a few years ago now." She dropped her head. "We lived here for many years but I would often go travelling to Dale to see the markets with my children."

"That's where we're headed." Hesper settled down in a stool on the opposite side of Mrs Farthings. "Well, we're passing through. We're going to the Shire, you know, the homeland of the little folk, hobbits."

"Don't go there!" Mrs Farthings suddenly began to sound frightened. She sucked in a deep breath and we leant in closer. Even Lily stopped what she was doing to last the last stool next to Hesper. "I have not seen Halflings for many a year. I have not seen anything there, I have not been there. But I hear many whispers. There is nothing there anymore. Not even light. No-one knows where the little folk have gone, where the light is, the life is. It is a desolate wasteland, home to nothing but weeds and ash and the remains of those little colourful doors. Do not go there, I beg of you!"

But this only made the three of us more curious. Where had all the hobbits gone? I didn't doubt we would find out soon.

Lily hopped up from her stool to scoop her stew into four bowls and returned with four round wooden spoons in her hand. We tucked in, silent thoughts buzzing through our minds.

'_Aren't you grateful for this _adventure_?_' Lily whispered into the studious brains of Hesper and I.

'_Couldn't be more_.' I replied with a smile.


	5. Dale

Hesper and I shared the larger of the two spare rooms. Hesper took the bed while I stood in the corner and stared out the window onto the tiny vegetable patch Mrs Farthings lived off. After I while I got bored, the stuffy, compact space stank of rotting wood discard, and Hesper's snoring was loud enough to drive a deaf dwarf mad. I silently slipped from the house, past the smaller room where Lily rested, not entirely asleep, and the fireplace where Mrs Farthings dozed, her wrinkled eyelids sealed over her sapphire flecked emerald eyes. The air outside was cool and silent. Anduné was asleep, resting on the hay-littered floor, Shanis was chewing the last few mouthfuls of oats and the other two horses in the stable were silent. All except Kelva.

She was strange beast; almost crimson in the dark, but her eyes were so unlike other horses, for her eyes were gold, glittering, shiny, even sparkling, yet smooth and bright. She was fierce and yet intelligent. For years Anduné and I had been close friends, a strong connection had grown between us. Kelva was Hesper's horse, and so similar to him that they couldn't stand each other. Kelva amazed me, and intrigued me. Something about her fierce nature also reminded me of Aiwentil, confident and proud.

I stepped out into the moonlight, the stars twinkling above me, my bare feet painted with crystal dewdrops falling off the grass. The sun would be up soon, illuminating the flat plain of land that stretched on for miles. I could see the Misty Mountains far off into the distance; we would probably arrive in Dale in less than three days' time, if we moved quickly.

I sauntered over to the stables, holding out my hand to Kelva. She sniffed approvingly and I rubbed her neck, pulling out a small silver bell that had snagged in her mane.

I began to sing, slowly. I made up the words as I went along, as they came to my mind I would save them. I began as a hum, but lyrics soon followed. I sang of a valley, full of life and colour and flowers and I sang of a girl, with red hair like flames, running. And I sang of a spell, a spell that turned the valley into an ugly pit, and girl was running as fast as she could, and suddenly she was falling… and all that was left was a stray horse running. Then I stared deep into Kelva's eyes. I knew Aiwentil was not inside her, but she was like her, and that was all that mattered.

All through breakfast it was silent. We seated ourselves the same way as last night, but while we dined on stale oatmeal there was no conversation.

Lily thanked Mrs Farthings and we headed on our way. Things went to plan, and just as I had guessed, it took less than three days for Dale to come into sight. The Lonely Mountain had loomed over us for two days and nights- still and silent as stone. But as the sun rose to herald the third day the markets of Dale were before us. We had brought with us several silver cups, spoons and metal shields gilded with semi-precious metals that we were eager to trade for some of the magnificent gems and crystals sent down from Erebor.

That whole day we wondered around, buying sweet treats like sticky buns filled with nuts and dried fruit and cream and cakes topped with baked bounties of berries and sweet fruits. I traded an embroidered quilt I had bought from a woman in Maressa for a jewelled quiver to hold a set of gold-feathered arrows a Mirkwood elf exchanged with me for a handful of silver spoons.

The three of us gathered at the end of the day to share our discoveries and rent a room for Hesper in the local inn, while Lily and I went out to tend the horses.

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened that night with the orcs?" I demanded once we were out of earshot from anyone else in the town.

"Maybe, maybe not. Does it really matter?"

"Yes."

"Well if you must know I hardly did anything. Just addled their brains so they completely forgot what they were doing. Just to give us time."

"You can erase people's memory? What other gifts do you have that Hesper and I don't know about?"

"I don't know. And you don't need to."

"You do know. Tell me. Please. I won't tell anyone else, not even Hesper!" I pleaded now desperately curious.

"Fine." Lily turned to glare at me defiantly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her pointed ear. "Tell me what you do know first."

"you can read minds, send images from your own or other people's thoughts, talk in other peoples head, obviously erase memory, search through other's past views and opinions."

"I can see the future."

"What?"

"Just little snippets. Prophecies. I can't choose what I see. I can't decide that I want to see you ten years into the future, it will come to me."

I was in complete awe. Lily dropped her head.

'Don't tell anyone.' She said, showing off her skill of talking in my head.

'I won't.' I thought, knowing she would read it. I smiled to know that my sister was so talented. She was just like Hesper had said- magical.


End file.
